Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972) was a Russian-American, born in Kiev (Russian Empire then, today Ukraine). At age 19, he was set to become a regular engineer, but when he heard about the Wright Brothers first mobilized flight, he became obsessed with building airplanes. Only 3 years later, aged 22, he became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works and …
The Flying Monk
Long before Leonardo da Vinci was illustrating his innovative flying machines, a British monk born in the 10th century designed, built, and tested an early machine that most closely resembled a hang glider.
Heron of Alexandria
Heron of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician, engineer, scientist, and inventor born in 20 A.D. Among his inventions was the first steam engine, the vending machine, a water organ, theatrical sound effects, and the odometer. He also designed mechanical toys and wrote books on subjects ranging from geometry to mechanics. Known for his work in geometry, he even has a …
The human crash test dummy
Lawrence Patrick (1960-2006) was an American biomechanics professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. Between 1960 and 1975, he was working on “human impact survival research”. Crash test dummies did not exist yet, because science did not know for sure how much damage a human can take. So Patrick decided to carry out dozens of experiments on himself.